Beacon Hill Roll Call

Thursday

May 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2007 at 11:35 PM

THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators' votes on seven roll calls from the week of May 21-25. There were no roll calls in the House last week. All of the Senate roll calls are from debate on the estimated $26.7 billion fiscal 2008 budget.

$26.7 BILLION FISCAL 2008 STATE BUDGET (S 3)

Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators' votes on seven roll calls from the week of May 21-25. There were no roll calls in the House last week. All of the Senate roll calls are from debate on the estimated $26.7 billion fiscal 2008 budget.

$26.7 BILLION FISCAL 2008 STATE BUDGET (S 3)Senate 38-0, approved a $26.7 billion fiscal 2008 state budget. Most of the 850 proposed amendments to the budget were approved or rejected without debate and without a roll call vote. At one point, dozens of amendments were split between a "yes" pile and a "no" pile. The Senate, again without debate or roll calls, quickly approved the "yes" pile and rejected the "no" pile. Supporters said that the budget is a fiscally responsible one that funds necessary programs, increases local aid and does not raise taxes. The House has already approved a different version of the budget and a conference committee will eventually craft a compromise version. (A "Yes" vote is for the budget).

Sen. Karen Spilka Yes

ESTABLISH COMMISSION ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING (S 3)Senate 7-31, rejected an amendment creating a 24-member special commission to study the status of civic education in schools and general civic involvement in Massachusetts. Amendment supporters said that citizen involvement in and knowledge of the democratic process are declining across the nation. They noted that in a recent survey of eighth graders, only 28 percent could explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. They said that a similar proposal was approved last year by the House and Senate but was vetoed by former Gov. Mitt Romney. Amendment opponents said that they support the intent of the measure. They noted that that a similar proposal has been filed as a separate bill and urged the Senate to wait until that measure is heard by a committee and brought to the Senate. (A "Yes" vote is for creating the special commission. A "No" vote is against it).

Sen. Karen Spilka No

WEBSITE FOR CITIZENS TO FIND INFO ON GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS (S 3)Senate 5-31, rejected an amendment requiring the state to set up a free, easily searchable state Web site that lists all businesses and nonprofit organizations that receive grants, contracts, loans or other state funds of $25,000 or more. Amendment supporters said that this proposal is modeled after a similar federal Web site that will soon be online and noted that this information is currently not readily available to the public on a single Web site. They argued that citizens have a right to know where their hard-earned tax dollars are going. Some noted that Gov. Deval Patrick's administration would have until Nov. 30 to develop a plan for the Website and to address any privacy concerns. Amendment opponents said that the amendment is well intentioned but noted that the Patrick administration has expressed concerns about making some of this classified and highly sensitive information public. They argued that the idea has merit but needs further study to ensure that certain information is protected. (A "Yes" vote is for creation of the Web site. A "No" vote is against it).

Sen. Karen Spilka No

ELIMINATE $3 MILLION FOR COMMONWEALTH CORPS (S 3)Senate 5-33, rejected an amendment to eliminate the $3 million in funding for the Commonwealth Corps - a volunteer program proposed in January by Gov. Patrick. At that time, the governor said, "The Commonwealth Corps will include 250 individuals in its first year, with a goal of expanding to 1,000 members over the next five years. Members will dedicate at least one year of service to a nonprofit organization, civic initiative, or public entity, providing direct service to people or communities in need." Supporters of the $3 million said that this program is an innovative one that would renew the spirit of volunteerism and help thousands of people and projects across the state. Opponents of the $3 million said that Patrick's legislation creating the Commonwealth Corps has not yet been approved. They argued that the Senate should wait to see if the legislation is approved prior to funding it. (The roll call vote is on eliminating the $3 million. A "Yes" vote is for elimination and therefore against the $3 million. A "No" vote is against elimination and therefore for the $3 million).

Sen. Karen Spilka No

ELIMINATE $10 MILLION FOR LOTTERY ADVERTISING BUDGET (S 3)Senate 9-29, rejected an amendment to eliminate $10 million in funding for the advertising of Lottery games. Supporters of the $10 million said that it would increase sales and raise additional Lottery revenue that is distributed to cities and towns as local aid. They argued that the Legislature should not micromanage the Lottery and its advertising. Opponents of the $10 million said that the Lottery's ad campaigns are misleading and are aimed at enticing low-income workers and senior citizens to spend their scarce, hard-earned money on gambling. They argued that this unfair advertising promotes a very regressive mechanism of raising revenue. (The roll call vote is on eliminating the $10 million. A "Yes" vote is for elimination and therefore against the $10 million. A "No" vote is against elimination and therefore for the $10 million).

Sen. Karen Spilka No

INCREASE EDUCATION LOCAL AID BY $23 MILLION (S 3)Senate 5-33, rejected an amendment increasing Chapter 70 education aid by $23 million by increasing from $50 to $75 the per pupil aid for cities and towns. The amendment also cuts $22 million from the state budget including $2.7 million for kindergarten development grants, $1.2 million in grants for intensive literacy and math instruction to help students pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test and $6.5 million in grants for communities to plan and implement longer school days or years. Amendment supporters said that the amendment would hike education aid for all cities and towns and noted that most communities are struggling and desperately need additional state funds. They noted that Gov. Patrick proposed an increase of $200 million in education aid, the Senate budget offers $220 million and this amendment provides $243 million. They argued that the amendment also makes a corresponding $22 million in budget cuts including elimination of an unnecessary $10 million Lottery advertising budget and elimination of increases for other education programs that are laudable but should not be funded until communities are given adequate basic education aid. Amendment opponents said that the amendment cuts funding for many important education programs. They noted that the $10 million cut in funds for Lottery advertising would result in the reduced sale of Lottery tickets and decreases in local aid that is funded by Lottery revenues. (A "Yes" vote is for the amendment increasing education aid by $23 million and cutting $22 million from other budget items. A "No" vote is against the amendment).

Sen. Karen Spilka No

ELIMINATE $4 MILLION IN POLICE GRANTS TO CITIES AND TOWNS (S 3)Senate 5-33, rejected an amendment to cut $4 million in funding for police grants to cities and towns. The grants would be administered by the Patrick administration's Executive Office of Public Safety which would receive help in developing the formula to distribute the funds from representatives from municipal government and law enforcement, the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. Supporters of the $4 million said that the funds would be used to hire 50 new local police officers across the state. Some acknowledged that Boston would likely receive the most grant money because it needs more officers to combat the rising crime rate. Opponents of the $4 million said that they oppose the funding without a formula in place to fairly distribute the grants across the state. Some argued that the lion's share of these grants would unfairly go to Boston in order to help the governor honor a commitment that he made to Mayor Thomas Menino. (The roll call vote is on eliminating the $4 million. A "Yes" vote is for elimination and therefore against the $4 million. A "No" vote is against elimination and therefore for the $4 million).

Sen. Karen Spilka No

ALSO UP ON BEACON HILLPREVENT DRUG ABUSE (S 1115) - The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee held a hearing on a bill requiring the state's Office of Health and Human Services to develop a public service campaign to prevent the growing use of frequently abused and dangerous drugs including Ecstasy, OxyContin and Vicodin. The campaign would include the use of broadcast and print media and the development of written materials to be distributed at universities and secondary schools.GET RID OF FRACTIONS IN GAS PRICES (H 3377) - The Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee's agenda included a measure that would require all posted gas prices at gas stations to be in whole cent increments.SPRINKLERS AND SMOKE DETECTORS IN COLLEGE DORMS - The Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on legislation requiring automatic sprinklers in dormitories and fraternity and sorority houses (H 2307) and a bill requiring that hard-wired smoke detectors be installed in these buildings' common hallways (H 2308).FIRE HYDRANT VISIBILITY (H 2309) - The Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee accepted testimony on a bill requiring that from November 1 to May 1 all fire hydrants be equipped with a flag or other marker at least four feet high. The measure also mandates that the state establish a grant program to help cities and towns fund this mandate.LIMIT STATE WORKERS TO ONE SALARY (S 1470) - The Public Service Committee held a hearing on a proposal prohibiting state employees from collecting more than one salary from the state.LIMIT STATE PENSIONS (S 1616) - The Public Service Committee held a hearing on legislation allowing only regular salary to be included when calculating the retirement income of state workers. The bill prohibits using overtime, commissions, bonuses, housing, uniform allowances, automobile usage, insurance premiums, tuition or any other fringe benefits when determining retirement income. The measure was filed in response to a recent Supreme Judicial Court ruling that boosted former University of Massachusetts President William M. Bulger's retirement pension by $17,000 by allowing him to include his housing allowance in the calculation of his pension.

HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session.During the week of May 21-25, the House met for a total of 42 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 19 hours and 43 minutes.

Monday, May 21. House, 11:02 a.m. to 11:09 a.m. Senate, 11:02 a.m. to 11:11 a.m.Tuesday, May 22. No House session. No Senate session.Wednesday, May 23. No House session. Senate, 10:01 a.m. to 9:29 p.m.Thursday, May 24. House, 11:00 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. Senate, 10:05 a.m. to 6:11 p.m.Friday, May 25. No House session. No Senate session.